Northwest Coastal

Heavy snowfall and strong winds continue to drive the avalanche danger to HIGH.

Friday: Cloudy with snow amounts 5-10 cm. Ridgetop winds light with strong gusts from the SW. Alpine temperatures near -5 and freezing levels 500 m.Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridgetop winds light from the South and alpine temperatures near -7.Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods and possibly a trace of new snow. Ridgtop winds light and alpine temperatures near -8.

Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Friday

On Wednesday, numerous natural slab and loose dry avalanches up to size 2 were reported from across the region. Natural avalanche activity may start to taper off on Friday but avalanche problems remain primed for human triggering through the forecast period.

Recent storm snow 40-100 cm has buried a variety of old snow surfaces including surface hoar, facets, crusts, stiff wind slab and a melt/ freeze crust below 1600 m. The deeper storm snow amounts exist in the Shames/ Terrace area with less accumulations further North and East. The new snow will likely have a poor bond to these older surfaces. Below this layer, the snowpack is generally settled and strong with the exception in shallow snowpack areas around Bear Pass and Ningunsaw where basal facets remain an ongoing concern.